Jodhpur (Rajasthan): Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT-major Bharti Enterprises, will open 500 primary and 50 senior secondary-cum-vocational training schools for underprivileged children in villages across India.

Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India, today inaugurated the Satya Bharti School at Village Lordi Dejgara (Jodhpur), setup under the aegis of Bharti Foundation's Satya Bharti School Program.

Also present at the occasion were Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal said, "While India makes impressive strides with its rapid economic growth, 300 million children in the age group of seven years and above do not have access to education. At Bharti, we believe that education is the single most important tool to bring about social and economic transformation and children in rural India must get an equal opportunity for education. With the Satya Bharti School Program, we are committed to make a difference and bridge the education divide between the urban and rural pockets of India, taking forward the agenda of inclusive economic growth."

Bharti Enterprises has committed a corpus of Rs.200 crores for Bharti Foundation's projects, in particular, for the Satya Bharti School Program's roll out across the country.

The Satya Bharti School program is an innovative model of public-private partnership which aims to make available high-quality education to the underprivileged, out-of-school and migrant children especially the girl child.

Currently, 161 Satya Bharti Primary Schools are operational across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with more than 13,000 children and over 560 teachers.

By 2010, the Foundation aims to reach out to more than 2,00,000 children through 500 Satya Bharti Primary Schools and 50 Satya Bharti Senior Secondary cum Vocational Training Schools across the country.

Apart from the regular curriculum, these 50 Satya Bharti Senior Secondary cum Vocational Training Schools will impart professional skills to students and equip them for future employment opportunities within their own villages and communities.

Bharti Foundation has already setup 25 Satya Bharti Schools in Jodhpur, Jaipur, Alwar and Pali and has also adopted 49 Government Primary Schools under its School Improvement Program in Amer and Neemrana.

Dr. Abhishek Singhvi, MP, Rajya Sabha has allocated Rs.25 Lacs under the MPLADS Scheme for the construction of 3 Satya Bharti Schools including the one in Lordi Dejgara.